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Apple-Samsung Patent Trial: Judge Loses Her Cool

by John Lister on August, 17 2012 at 08:08AM EDT

The judge in the patent case between Apple and Samsung has suggested an Apple lawyer must be on drugs if he thinks his latest request will be taken seriously. It demonstrates that Judge Lucy Koh is exasperated with the behavior of both sides.

The case involves several patents. However, the most prominent dispute is about whether or not Samsung copied the design of the iPhone and iPad when designing its own gadgets.

Unlike many such disputes, the two sides have failed to reach a settlement and are now in the midst of a full jury trial.

Koh had previously warned that the two sides would only be allowed to debate a limited number of legal issues in the trial, as asking a jury to hear every point the two sides had raised would "constitute cruel and unusual punishment."

Apple, Samsung Under 25 Hour Time Limit

When setting out the timetable for the case, Koh ruled that each side would only be allowed a total of 25 hours to make their case. At the time of her latest comments, Apple had less than four hours remaining, while Samsung had completed its case.

Despite this limited time frame, Apple lawyer William Lee presented a list of 22 witnesses that he wanted to call to argue against evidence already given by Samsung's chosen experts.

Lee insisted he could genuinely get through the full list in the remaining time, even though this would allow barely 10 minutes per witness.

Observers suggest that this is a ploy designed to surprise Samsung lawyers who won't be prepared for cross-examinations.

Judge Makes "Smoking Crack" Reference

Earlier in the trial Koh urged both sides to discuss a potential settlement. She warned that because the issues involved are so complex, both sides could be taking a risk by letting the decision go to the jury. (Source: pcmag.com)